Amarnath Yatra

Every year, hundreds of thousands of Hindu pilgrims trek to the Amarath Shrine, located at a height of nearly 3,900 metres, to get a glimpse of an ice stalagmite that is considered a Shiv Lingam. The Himalayan shrine dedicated to Lord Shiva is within a cave located some 140 km from Srinagar. Pilgrims can take two routes to the shrine, one via Pahalgam and the other via Baltal. Thousands of police and paramilitary personnel are deployed every year to protect the ‘yatris’ as pilgrims have been targeted in the past by militants.